S87 Men's Football: Ateneo held to a draw by UE

Ateneo-UE Second Round UAAP Season 87 Men’s Football

Nov 28, 2024 - 17:34

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S87 Men's Football: Ateneo held to a draw by UE

UE's Eldrin Madrid

Matches on Saturday
(UP Diliman Football Stadium)

4 p.m. - UP vs UST (Women)
6:30 p.m.- DLSU vs FEU (Women)

UNIVERSITY of the East, needing to earn full points in its last two matches and hope for the best to force a playoff for the No. 4 spot, was eliminated after settling to a 3-3 draw against Final Four-bound Ateneo de Manila University on Thursday in the UAAP Season 87 Men's Football tournament at the UP Football Stadium.

Eldrin Madrid netted a brace while Jam Rey Mariveles was also on target, but the Red Warriors could not find their range late in the match to beat the Blue Eagles, who went down to 10 men after Jethro Flores was dismissed in stoppage time for a second yellow card.

UE rued Ateneo's early goal, as Ryan Lim scored the ninth-minute opener.

The Blue Eagles had a counter to the Red Warriors' goals, as Joaquin Collo and Leo Maquiling were able to equalize in the 31st and 52nd minute, respectively.

“Well, first of all, the first goal that we conceded was definitely a mistake from our goalkeeper (Jan Tambilawan). But if you take a look of how we bounce back with the game. You can see the improvement of the team. But it’s too late for the Final Four," coach Frank Muescan said.

“But the good thing is we improved the score, and the goals. It shows that these players in UE has a long term ahead of them maybe in the next season, we’ll see," he added.

The Red Warriors, with one match remaining in the eliminations, moved up to nine points.

UE, five off from the No. 4 spot, entered the match needing to sweep its last two fixtures, hope that University of Santo Tomas will remain at 14 points and De La Salle won't secure favorable results along the way to force a one-off duel for the last Final Four berth.

Ateneo remained on top of the table with 25 points with only the final Final Four ranking to be determined. The Blue Eagles will play the Golden Booters on Sunday.

UE hopes to wrap up its season on a high note against Adamson University also on Sunday.

“We're positive that we can convert a win on our last match, kumbaga yun na yung bonus namin eh but really have to prepare for. We still have two more days, to prepare for that. It's very, very important for the match," Muescan said.